The King in Yellow

In which a traitor leads the party to a violent show-down

A days after the recovery of The King in Yellow, Law calls upon the intrepid PCs for another mission; their first as full members of the Eldritch Society.

The book that the party had recovered from Ginny’s lawyer’s office, which had been at Jane Austen’s apartment in her lab being studied, was stolen out from under Vind’s nose. He had been assigned to protect the book, when he was knocked unconscious and the book then stolen and the apartment ransacked.

The King in Yellow and the safe that contained it also needed to be transported somewhere safe in the headquarters of the Eldritch Society. The unknown book also had to be recovered from the agency that stole it from Jane’s apartment.

Law gave the group either option, letting them know that another Society group near Los Angeles would take care of the other option. As the unknown book seemed to harbor secrets that would increase the capability of the Eldritch Society greatly, probably with the ability to grant great power to the PCs, the PCs decided to go after that, first.

The only person who knew what had happened, however, was Sam, the OIS agent responsible for the theft. He was ordered to make sure that the PCs never found any evidence, at any price.

The group arrived at the scene of the crime, and found a series of incriminating evidence: a panini with a bootprint, secondary security camera footage, a secret database server hard drive, and lastly, the occult labratory where the theft took place (complete with undead fetus). Sam skillfully covered up the evidence and seemed faily confident that the book would never be recovered.

However, upon leaving the premises, the group was attacked by assassins, who seemed to be bent on exterminating Sam first. In the ensuing panic, Sam began seeing visions and disembodied voices that seemed to eminate from the would-be killers. One assassin was incapacitated, while a sniper in a house adjacent began picking off the players, who ran.

During a car chase, the players managed to lose 3 different cars giving pursuit; Rida discovered a skill for biking, and the others were able to survive 2 other cars trying to slam into them, bullets filling the air between the vehicles.

Both the Wild Zeroes and the Society were contacted for emergency backup, and the characters were told me expect backup at a gas station at the corner of Pico and Sepulveda. They pulled into the fix-it garage of said gas station just as 3 more unmarked black sedans pulled up, and the players set themselves up in the quick-mart area of the gas station. A mysterious force destroyed one of the cars, and kept the passengers of the other car busy while the players dispatched the other cars. Rida used the console to turn off the lights of the mart, reroute the security footage of the station, and shut the garage door. Sam, by then catatonic in a panic attack, managed to wake himself up in time to help as Rida threw a high-proof alcohol at the car, which Vida shot at, spraying the final passenger, at which point Sam then fired his taser, setting the villain alight. Damara viciously attacked two henchmen, channeling some inner ancient-lesbian-warrior aura to decapitate and murtilate them both to gruesome deaths.

Finally, a great blue light filled the light as a car exploded outside, whereupon four sillhouetted figures walked towards the players, as the session came to a close…

In which the players demonstrate their willingness to murder

Though Vind had disappeared mysteriously, and the Game Master himself was waylaid by a vicious attack of tequila the night prior, the game continued.

The players were summoned again by Law. In his secret room, Law once again laid out the priorities to the players; recover the King in Yellow, at whatever cost. He then pointed them to the Society Library to recover as much information as possible, while Law himself saw to some personal business.

Sam then spoke to his superior in the OIS, who ordered that he recover the book that was handed over to Law in the previous session. Sam complied.

At the Society Library, the players met Jane Austen, the bubbly librarian. They learned all about the King in Yellow and its history, as well as the most likely location for the hidden library; a mansion in the hills of Malibu that had been passed down Bella Lagosi’s family for generations. Sam did his best to recover the book, but Jane Austen admitted that it was in her lab at her house.

The players headed to the Malibu estate, deep in the no-man’s land of the West LA beaches. They walked into the house, explored a bit, and found some scrawny, filthy children with wild, white eyes chanting in some exotic circle. The kids watched the group warily, and as the players approached, the children became agitated. The players then ran from the children as they became feral, and found themselves shut in a bedroom. Several attempts to bar the door resulted in failure as the weak and crippled players made a lot of noise. Subsequent attempts to leave the room through the window resulted in a 2 story drop. They ran around the house and entered through a cellar door. Explorations ended up with Rida encountering a man who had been mutilated and was undergoing horrific torture, which made him faint. The other players had to drag him as the children gave chase. The players ended up in a strange dark room lit with candles and decorated on the floor with chalk-drawn circles and strange writing. In the room were several women hooked up to life-support systems and IV drips. The children huddled at the threshold to the room, refusing to step inside.

Rida attempted to grab an IV pole and vault over the children, but his stunt ended up short and he was mauled by the children until he crawled back into the room. Damara tried to fight her way through and crashed through into the next room. Panicked at the sound of fighting in the next room over, Sam grabbed his gun and mercilessly sent shots through various parts of child anatomy. Brains and blood littered the cellar passageway as Sam made his way into the next room and found Damara locked in battle with another child. One child having been knocked out cold, the other was hanging onto her arm, teeth lodged deep into her skin.

Sam had no time to aim, and in the ensuing panic, ended up putting a bullet through Damara’s arm. The child was soon shaken free, and Sam ended its life with a bullet through the head.

The party finally made it past the children and into the hidden library. They found the tome they were looking for, and Rida managed to take hold of it without ill effect.

On their way out, however, they were confronted by two fish-like men, who demanded revenge for the death of their children. Sam convinced them that there had been an accident that resulted in the deaths, and the men decided to treat the players and sacrifice them to their dark gods instead. Their plans were short lived, however, as they were ripped into bloody ribbons by the gaunt that had made an appearance last time.

A disembodied voice warned Sam that the next time they met, Sam would have to provide the information on Bella’s body, or they would all meet the same fate. Rida by this point was long gone with the book.

After returning the book to Law, Law was ecstatic, and ordered Rida to put the book into a safe. Law then helped the characters study up and attempt to learn any new skills.

He left them all with the knowledge that as new Brothers of the Society, they’d be called upon again soon.

in which the players try to kill themselves violently

The players each recieved a mysterious message from the Eldritch Society one night, instructing them to arrive at a particular location. Following the instructions, they find themselves at a cul-de-sac in a suburb of the Los Angeles Arcology. They arrive separately, each unaware that they are to join a team. They meet and immediately decide not to trust anyone, at which point Sam takes the lead. He leads the group down a hidden hatch with a strange symbol, which takes them underground to a maintenance hallway. Following the hallway, they climb up another ladder, which ends up in a long forgotten neighborhood of the arcology, that has been walled off and abandoned.

They immediately run into a gang of hooligans, the Wild Zero biker gang. Though the players try to keep their distance, the gang catches sight of Damara, and are overwhelmed with awe. The gang members all decide to do anything they can for the legendary ex-gang leader. Damara bids them leave, and the players eventually find the hidden door that leads to their destination.

The players find themselves in a room 3 inches deep with water, the walls completely covered in monitors of various sizes, each displaying surveillance camera feeds, tv shows and strange movies. At the end of the room is a well-dressed man who tells them his name is Law, their new handler.

Law tells them about the King in Yellow, a play that is said to render mad any foolish enough to read it. The book was thought to have been lost in the 1930s, but rumor had it that the sorceress Bella Ligosa kept a copy in her secret library. And further rumor has it that this sorceress has recently passed away, making it vital that the society retrieve the book to keep it out of the wrong hands. Only, the library is hidden. The characters must do everything they can to get their hands on the book.

The characters load up on weapons and head out to accomplish their mission. Damara asks the gang for help uncovering the magical underground, which leads them to a friend of one of the Wild Zero’s younger brother. The contact turns out to be a kid with aspirations to magical greatness, but a crippling fondness for video games. He did, however, seem knowledgable enough to lead the PCs to Bella’s next of kin.

The PCs head to the next of kin, Ginny, and end up interviewing her in the guise of the authorities. They each take tea and hear her talk about a property that had been in the family for generations, and Bella’s things that had been left to her that were still being kept at her lawyer’s office.

The players head to the lawyer’s office, disable the security and take a look around inside. Just as they find themselves in the holding room, a byakhee, a hideous winged creature from the cosmos, knocks Vind out cold, and menaces the players inside the office, while Rida hacked the PC.

The byakhee roars and generally scared the players for a while, mysteriously holding back its long barbed tail and long sharp horns. Eventually Vind recovered and shot the thing. Finally it headed into the holding room where it grabbed a certain box and tried to leave. Vind relieved the creature of its cargo, and led the PCs in a retreat. The Wild Zeros came in and tried to rescue the players, but most of them were reduced to a babbling mess in fear of the beast. The two that were left capable were mutilated instantly. A mysterious voice filled the room as the byakhee prepared to leave, letting the players know that there would be no mercy the next time they meddled in the sorceress’ affairs. The voice seemed familiar to them…

They returned to Law, and handed over the box. Inside the box was a book that nobody could read. Upon hearing about their exploits, Law was astounded that they faced a byakhee and were left alive. Upon inspection of the files retrieved by Rida, more information about the property was uncovered, but it was revealed that the book was the only item that hadn’t been claimed by Ginny yet.

Law sent them home to get some rest, with assurances that they’d be needed again in the next day or so.